Stuck in Park

**Ali"i 300C** · 07-26-2008, 12:03 AM

300C SRT wouldn't shift out of Park...towed to (nearest) dealer...two days later they get to it, and decide it needs a new shifter...estimate 5 days to get part. Am I the only one?

**Mighty Noid** · 07-26-2008, 01:28 AM

I bet you it is this:

shifter problems and fix
Well, I am posting this because I have heard of one or two people having the same prolem, and while most people still have their warranty, you wont have it forever. So if this should happen to you, now you have a way to keep from getting ripped off at the stealership. And from what I saw, this will become an issue at some time or another. I don't know if the shifter is common for all the rt's or not, so i posted it here.

Basic situation: car would not come out of park. It would start fine, but just wouldn’t shift. And the shifter felt like it was binding mechanically instead of any electronic inhibits.

After tearing out the trim pieces on the console, I found that there were two pink levers on the shifter.

I pressed the one on the back(per the factory manual instructions) with no luck. However, there is a larger one on the front which was color coded the same bright pink.

After monkeying with it a few seconds, I found that I could swivel it out of the way and engage the shifter. This at least got me on my way until I could find a better solution.

Well today I had the time to take it out and look at it. And a nagging suspicion I had was confirmed. Once I pulled the shifter out, I shook it, and two small pieces fell out.

It seems the large swiveling lever in the front of the shifter works with the ignition lock. It isspring loaded open, and when the key is pulled a solenoid closes, actuates a cable, and pulls the lever to hold the shifter in park. When the solenoid is opened(key back in) the cable goes slack, and the spring pulls the lever open, allowing you to take the car out of park.

And the parts that fell out?

Those would be the spring, and the flimsy plastic arm that broke off. So here we have a spring the size of a dime that can render inoperable a 35k dollar car. Wonderful. Especially since if it fails, it is designed to do just that.

Even better, when I went to the dealer to get another, the guy just laughed and told me that they don’t sell that part, you have to buy the whole shifter for 127 dollars. Don’t get me wrong, I sadly expected that exact response. I just thought its nifty that only when you expect the worst does a 5 star dealer live up to your expectations.

So I decided to fix the problem myself. I used 20 thousandths lockwire that we use on the aircraft, a small hole in the lever, and a few minutes to put everything back together. The pictures should be self explanatory. I actually spent more time typing this and inserting photos than it took to fix the problem, but felt it well worth it. With the cost of a tow, an hour or more labor to have the part installed, scratched interior parts from them doing the work, and worst case a rental car, you could be out 3 or 4 hundred dollars simply because of a poorly designed 50 cent spring.

So even if it hasn’t happened yet, just read and remember. A flimsy as the little plastic arm was that holds that spring, I’m pretty sure that they will be a common problem as the cars start to age.
Enjoy!